Swiss National Science Foundation in the newshttp://medicalxpress.com/
en-usprovides the latest news from Swiss National Science FoundationResearchers flag gaps in evaluating the impact of development collaboration"No responsible physician would consider prescribing medications without properly evaluating their impact or potential side effects. Yet in social development programs, where large sums of money are spent… no such standard has been adopted." This sobering conclusion was made in 2006 by a working group of the Washington Center for Global Development, in a provocative report entitled: "When Will We Ever Learn? Improving Lives Through Impact Evaluation." The experts complained about gaps in evaluating the impact of development collaboration, and called for the systematic establishment of evidence-based decision-making.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-flag-gaps-impact-collaboration.html
OtherFri, 09 Dec 2016 07:58:43 ESTnews400492714Experiences leave behind epigenetic traces in our genetic materialAn ideological dispute is taking place in biology. And it's about a big topic that's central to everything: heredity. In his epoch-making book On the Origin of Species of 1859, Darwin wrote of the reigning ignorance about how differences between individuals come about. It was only with 'modern evolutionary synthesis' in the 1940s that people became convinced that heredity functions through genetics – in other words, that the characteristics of living creatures are passed on to the next generations through their genetic substance, DNA.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-epigenetic-genetic-material.html
BiotechnologyWed, 07 Dec 2016 08:29:06 ESTnews400321703Science's spam epidemic"Hope this email finds you in superior spirits." So began a message that recently arrived in the inbox of Adriano Aguzzi, a neuropathologist at the University of Zurich. Although an apparently innocuous, even friendly, opening line, Aguzzi knew what would follow. There would be an invitation by some obscure company located who knows where on the planet to submit a paper to a journal he had never heard of, or to participate in a conference that might well never take place. As such, he had no hesitation about what to do. He hit 'delete.'http://phys.org/news/2016-12-science-spam-epidemic.html
OtherFri, 02 Dec 2016 07:26:16 ESTnews399885963Pragmatic scenario for transitioning the publication system towards open accessA study has developed scenarios for transitioning Switzerland's scientific publication system towards Open Access (OA). It recommends a model that proposes a pragmatic and flexible way of making publicly funded research freely available at no charge and with no delay. The study was initiated by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) in collaboration with the funding programme 'Scientific Information' (SUC P-2) run by swissuniversities.http://phys.org/news/2016-11-pragmatic-scenario-transitioning-access.html
Social SciencesFri, 18 Nov 2016 08:30:01 ESTnews398679846How planets like Jupiter formYoung giant planets are born from gas and dust. Researchers of ETH Zürich and the Universities of Zürich and Bern simulated different scenarios relying on the computing power of the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) to find out how they exactly form and evolve. They compared their results with observations and were able to show amongst others a big difference between the postulated formation mechanisms.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-planets-jupiter.html
AstronomyFri, 28 Oct 2016 06:00:51 ESTnews396853238From trees to paper—how Swiss wood impacts the environmentWood has a largely favourable environmental effect. A study of the National Research Programme "Resource Wood" recommends using wood more widely as a source of energy and as a building material.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-trees-paperhow-swiss-wood-impacts.html
EnvironmentWed, 19 Oct 2016 08:28:38 ESTnews396084506Database of natural movements to feed machine-learning algorithms for prosthesesMost amputees use purely aesthetic prostheses. They find it difficult to accept a robotic limb that is not only by and large complicated to use but also has somewhat unnatural motion. Most of the models on the market today can only execute a few simple gestures, for example opening and closing the fist, and often in a very jarring way. Furthermore, users can't always properly control the magnitude of the movement, which adds a safety risk to the mixture.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-10-database-natural-movements-machine-learning-algorithms.html
NeuroscienceMon, 17 Oct 2016 09:23:44 ESTnews395915015Reviewing the treatment of differences of sex developmentThe Swiss National Science Foundation is providing funding for University Children's Hospital Zurich's scientific review of the treatment of children with differences of sex development (DSD children).http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-10-treatment-differences-sex.html
PediatricsMon, 10 Oct 2016 11:05:05 ESTnews395316293How the stomach talks to the brainWe eat because we're hungry – and for a thousand other reasons too: for pleasure, out of frustration, or because we're stressed. We've known for a long time that the digestive tract and the brain together determine our eating habits. And finding out how they do this is becoming increasingly relevant, given the current spread of overweight, obesity and type-2 diabetes.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-10-stomach-brain.html
DiabetesMon, 10 Oct 2016 09:04:38 ESTnews395309072In tropical countries, organic waste can be turned into compost quicker by using maggotsThe black soldier fly is a veritable eating machine – at least in its larval stage. Despite its rather martial name, it's not an insect that would ever do anyone any harm. Its larvae feed on rotting organic material such as food scraps or dung. "They can reduce most of just about any type of organic waste in a short space of time", says Noah Adamtey from the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Frick.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-tropical-countries-compost-quicker-maggots.html
EnvironmentFri, 07 Oct 2016 08:11:45 ESTnews395046698Inequality threatens our wellbeingPoverty, unemployment and other forms of exclusion adversely affect people's wellbeing, reveals the Swiss Social Report 2016, which is published by the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences (FORS), with support from the Swiss National Science Foundation.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-inequality-threatens-wellbeing.html
Social SciencesTue, 04 Oct 2016 09:20:59 ESTnews394791649Swiss space research reaches for the skyThe Rosetta mission is coming to an end, but the next expeditions across our solar system are ready for lift-off, carrying with them a number of state-of-the-art devices made in Switzerland.http://phys.org/news/2016-09-swiss-space-sky.html
Space ExplorationThu, 29 Sep 2016 09:10:36 ESTnews394359029A woman researcher in a men's prisonSome 150 inmates are currently committed in Swiss correctional facilities. The ethnologist Irene Marti, a doctoral student at the University of Neuchâtel, has been looking into how they cope. She participated in their everyday routine and played ping pong with them.http://phys.org/news/2016-09-woman-men-prison.html
Social SciencesThu, 22 Sep 2016 09:30:02 ESTnews393752663Researcher discusses the slow pace of the open science movementMartin Vetterli, President of the National Research Council of the SNSF, has been lobbying for open science for years. "You can't simply command it to happen", he says. As a researcher at EPFL, he discloses all his own raw data.http://phys.org/news/2016-09-discusses-pace-science-movement.html
OtherThu, 15 Sep 2016 07:48:26 ESTnews393144489The value of the open science movementResearch creates its own problems. Articles may be withdrawn because of irregularities, results can be impossible to reproduce, methods are often non-standardised, and publications may not be accessible (See 'Fixing science', Horizons September 2015). The search is now on for solutions.http://phys.org/news/2016-08-science-movement.html
OtherMon, 29 Aug 2016 08:00:02 ESTnews391676245Shorter asylum procedures reduce unemploymentAlthough refugees in Switzerland are allowed to take up employment while their asylum application procedure is still pending, a long wait reduces their chances of entering into employment. Researchers supported by the SNSF have now robustly quantified this negative effect for the first time.http://phys.org/news/2016-08-shorter-asylum-procedures-unemployment.html
Social SciencesThu, 04 Aug 2016 08:00:02 ESTnews389515742Researchers link a rabbit retina to a chip in vitroNystagmus is a genetically transmitted disease that causes an uncontrolled, back-and-forth twitching of the eyeball. Roughly one in every 1,500 men suffer from it. But before now, we did not know that this twitching is caused by retinal neurones making miscalculations when converting visual stimuli into electrical signals.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-07-link-rabbit-retina-chip-vitro.html
NeuroscienceFri, 08 Jul 2016 08:00:29 ESTnews387183617Replacing oil with wood for the production of chemicalsTwo research projects of the National Research Programme "Resource Wood" have developed new processes to replace petroleum with wood for the production of important chemicals. These precursors are used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, plastics or fertilisers.http://phys.org/news/2016-07-oil-wood-production-chemicals.html
Materials ScienceWed, 06 Jul 2016 08:00:01 ESTnews387010228The promise of more productive pasture grassesThe grass might be greener on the other side, but otherwise people don't pay much attention to how it grows. And yet some two thirds of Switzerland's agricultural land comprises meadows and pastures. So at least in economic terms, grass growth is a factor that we have to bear in mind, and that should be optimised where possible.http://phys.org/news/2016-06-productive-pasture-grasses.html
BiotechnologyWed, 29 Jun 2016 08:30:04 ESTnews386406996Imitation neurones, genuine potentialIn March 2016, the world Go champion Lee Sedol lost 1-4 against the artificial intelligence AlphaGo. For many, this was yet another defeat for humanity at the hands of the machines. Indeed, the success of the AlphaGo software was forged in an area of artificial intelligence that has seen huge progress over the last decade. Deep learning, as it's called, uses artificial neural networks to process algorithmic calculations. This software architecture therefore mimics biological neural networks.http://phys.org/news/2016-06-imitation-neurones-genuine-potential.html
Computer SciencesMon, 27 Jun 2016 08:10:01 ESTnews386232500The causes of soil consumptionThe soil is still under threat from urban sprawl. Small municipalities with little planning capacity and more easily accessible conurbations in particular are doing little to counter the issue. Researchers from the National Research Programme "Sustainable Use of Soil as a Resource" (NRP 68) have analysed the reasons for this by surveying Swiss municipalities.http://phys.org/news/2016-06-soil-consumption.html
EnvironmentTue, 14 Jun 2016 08:00:01 ESTnews385109041The therapeutic potential of health dataIn the future, doctors won't be concerned about treating just a diseased organ – they'll be using a mass of data to get a holistic view of the state of their patients." This is how the Swiss Centre for Technology Assessment describes the dream of personalised medicine. In this scenario, drugs will no longer be prescribed only according to a diagnosis, because gene variants and self-generated data will be consulted before decisions are made.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-06-therapeutic-potential-health.html
HealthMon, 13 Jun 2016 08:00:02 ESTnews385023032Monitoring greenhouse gas emissions independentlyMistakes can happen when estimating emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Researchers funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation have developed a method to independently validate national statistics.http://phys.org/news/2016-03-greenhouse-gas-emissions-independently.html
EnvironmentTue, 22 Mar 2016 07:44:19 ESTnews377851452Variety keeps Swiss farmers satisfiedA project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation has found that Swiss farmers enjoy greater levels of job satisfaction than their counterparts in industrialised agricultural systems.http://phys.org/news/2016-03-variety-swiss-farmers.html
Economics & BusinessWed, 16 Mar 2016 09:20:09 ESTnews377337912Using a microscopic ring to produce pulsed lightResearchers funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation have made a chip-based device that can generate a laser signal with frequencies spaced in a comb-like fashion. Their work could be used in telecommunications applications and in chemical analysis.http://phys.org/news/2016-01-microscopic-pulsed.html
Optics & PhotonicsThu, 07 Jan 2016 08:00:03 ESTnews371374904Understanding the fruit fly's noseHow odours influence actions is one of the fundamental questions in neuroscience. Richard Benton, associate professor at the Center for Integrative Genomics at the University of Lausanne, follows the molecular trail of chemical messages from the nose to the brain of insects. For his work, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) on behalf of the International Latsis Foundation awards Benton with the National Latsis Prize 2015.http://phys.org/news/2015-11-fruit-nose.html
Plants & AnimalsTue, 24 Nov 2015 07:51:58 ESTnews367573910Learning in your sleep – the right wayYou can swot up on vocabulary in your sleep – but only if you don't confuse your brain in the process. Researchers funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation have invited people to their sleep lab for a Dutch language course.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-10-learning-in-your-sleep-the.html
NeuroscienceWed, 28 Oct 2015 09:58:46 ESTnews365245117A new electronic component to replace flash storageResearchers funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation have created a new electronic component that could replace flash storage. This memristor could also be used one day in new types of computers.http://phys.org/news/2015-10-electronic-component-storage.html
NanophysicsMon, 19 Oct 2015 08:40:27 ESTnews364462817Correlations and imbalances between mother's state and offspring sex ratiosAccording to a well-known theory in evolutionary biology healthy females should give birth to more males than females. A study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation shows why this is not always true.http://phys.org/news/2015-09-imbalances-mother-state-offspring-sex.html
Plants & AnimalsTue, 22 Sep 2015 08:22:03 ESTnews362128911The Swiss diet under the microscopeQuality of nutrition and diet is influenced by the consumer's financial resources, reveals a study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Some immigrants have a healthier diet than people born in Switzerland.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-09-swiss-diet-microscope.html
HealthMon, 21 Sep 2015 09:29:49 ESTnews362046578